Before Litchfield
by heynewglasses
Summary: Centered around the events that landed Piper and Alex in prison - a full detail Vauseman story of what happened before Piper arrived at Litchfield.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"So anyways, Alex, how was your trip? Any, _trouble _at the airport?"

I look over at my table of friends, all waiting expectantly for my next words. As if _I'd_ actually get caught.

"Well, if you thought they'd get me for my last drop, think again. It wasn't too bad. They took my moisturizer, guys. I had to walk through the airport _barefoot_. I mean, if Bush fucking wins again, we're all moving to Berlin."

Seeing as my friends are all liberals, I get a round of applause and "Amens", with all of us holding up our beer bottles and pushing them together in one simultaneous group _klink_. But I don't really hear it. All I see at the moment is this girl who just walked into the dingy, horribly lit bar.

Long, wavy, dirty blonde hair that tickles just below her boobs. Nice. I'm guessing an A or B cup? From behind, it's quite the view. Legs for days, and those jeans aren't doing her any favors.

"Hey, you," I call out to her from my spot at the table. She doesn't move from where she stands at the bar. I cup a hand over my mouth.

"Laura Ingalls Wilder."

She turns behind her, as if expecting someone else would actually come into the bar, then catches my eye and turns to face me. I get a clear look at her face. It's thin, framed by the waves of dirty blonde, with thin lips and these clear, watery blue eyes. Like someone drained them of color and only left the slightest shade of blue left. It's like she's beautiful without trying.

"We're skipping America before the apocalypse. Wanna come?"

I add in a flirtatious smile to top it off. Confusion floods her face.

"Sorry?"

Before I can respond, the bartender shows up behind her. It's a small bar, so I can hear every single word of their exchange.

"What can I get for you?" He asks, both hands resting on the mahogany bar.

"Oh, hi, I was wondering if you were hiring?"

The bartender glances at the resumé in her hands, then purses his lips.

"No, sorry."

"Well, can I leave this with you?"

"Honestly, it's just going to end up in a drawer somewhere, so…"

She looks down and I can tell she's disappointed.

"Okay. Well…"

Blondie starts to turn her head in my direction, so I immediately immerse myself in conversation with my friends. She turns back to the bartender.

"Can I have a margarita, then?"

"That I can do for you."

Time to shine. Before I stand up to go talk to her, my friend Christina leans over and whispers, "If you fuck her I'll give you ten bucks."

I snorted. "I'll take you on for that, but add on an extra five if Silvy doesn't find out."

I left her laughing at the table, and approach Blondie. Setting my beer on the bar, I stand right next to her barstool and say, "It's a little cold out for a margarita, don't you think?"

Without waiting for a reply, I give her the smallest of smirks then pick up Blondie's resumé.

"Let's see this," I say, while quickly scanning the obviously faked resumé. Hmmm. Pretty girl, hasn't worked a day in her life, nice clothes… possibly a new recruit? No. She seems too…whole. Too pure. If it were any other girl, like one with mommy issues, a long-time girlfriend called herion, and a mane of hair that no brush could ever tame, _then_ it might be a different story.

"Steve's Greek Cuisine? Le Grande Fromage? Bullshit, bullshit." I say, chuckling at her now reddening face. "_You_ need a lesson in fudging a resumé."

Blondie finally speaks up, and says, "Do you work here?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" She seems taken aback, confirming the uptight, ice-princess act I suspected. I continue on with the resumé.

"Manager, Polly Harper." Pffft. Who the hell names their kid Polly? "No one named Polly Harper gets put in charge. Who is that really?"

Blondie's face flushes, and she says, "It's my friend." We both chuckle.

"You've never waited a fucking table in your life, have you?"

She pauses, her smile showing off her dimples, shakes her head, and finally says, "No."

I glance back down at the resumé. "So… Piper Chapman?" Damn. Even her name is cute. I continue, "A Smith grad with _excellent_ listening skills, passionate about making diners feel good…mmm, that sounds kind of dirty." The bartender sets Blondie's- er, Piper's margarita on the bar, and I tell him, "You can put that on my tab."

"Safe, clean, and careful when handling food and drink," I say with a smirk and a laugh as a now fully embarrassed Piper snatches her resumé out of my hands as she exclaims a soft, "Oh, gosh!" then rubs a hand on her forehead. I get her attention back by saying, "I like that in a woman." She smiles again, dimples apparent.

"So, what else do I need to know about you?"

She avoids my question by asking, "Who _are _you?"

I smile. "My name is Alex."

"And what do _you_ do, Alex? Besides make fun of strangers in bars?"

Trying to say it as lightly as possible, I admit, "I work for an international drug cartel."

Shit. The eyebrows are raised. I play it off with a laugh, like it was a joke, with Piper following suit. Oh, if only she knew it was most definitely _not_ a joke and I have a call to make to a new manufacturer in Amsterdam in approximately four hours. Behind me I hear the scraping of chairs as they're being pushed out from the table, and the sound of different conversations drifts away as my friends leave the bar.

"Hey Vause, you coming?" Asked Christina from the doorway, a smirk plastered on her face. My time is up.

"Yeah, yeah, on my way." I mumble. Turning back to Piper, I see that she's still smiling at me, maybe hoping that I'll stay. "Hey, I have to go," I say, watching her smile fade away. "But," I grab the napkin from under her margarita and scribble ten digits on it.

"Here's my number. Give me a call if you want to find out what I _actually_ do for a living. Bye for now, Piper."

And before she has the chance to respond I'm already out the door.

"Looks like I don't owe you anything." says Christina as we walk away from the bar. I take in a deep breath, and smile at the thought of the gorgeous blonde with pale blue eyes.

"Just wait. Patience is a virtue."


	2. Chapter 2

"I don't care Levi, I need the shipment by Thursday! If I don't get it by then, Kubra'll have your head, and mine too if you aren't careful." I snap my phone shut, lean back against the nearly-overflowing bookcase/wall in my girlfriend Silvy's house, and take a deep breath. It would have been so much more satisfying to slam it down on the holder.

I'm about to doze off when my phone rings _again._ Probably Levi. Without bothering to look at the caller ID, I answer the call and nearly scream into the phone, "Look, Levi. _I_ _don't_ _care _if you think you'll get caught, I _need that fucking shipment waiting for me at the warehouse by Thursday. Begrijpen?_"

"Uh…Sorry?" says a soft voice that I instantly recognize from a certain bar two weeks ago. Blondie.

"Oh, hey Piper! I was starting to think that you'd forgotten about me."

"What? Never."

"Okay, I know you didn't call so you could get me to buy you another margarita. Besides, its way too cold out for one now. What do you want?"

"Oh, I, um…" her voice trails off, but I know she hasn't hung up yet. I can still hear shallow breathing from the other line.

"I was, just um, wondering if you wanted to hang out?"

A smile begins creeping up on my face.

"Piper Chapman, you naughty little girl. Are you asking me out on a date?"

I can practically see her cheeks reddening, which only makes me smile even more.

"What? No…I'm straight. I just, you know, want to hang out. With you."

"Mhmmm. Whatever you say, Blondie."

"Seriously! I'm not gay!"

Although her words are saying that she's straight, her voice begs to differ. I won't give up this easily. Still smiling, I tell her, "I know about this nice little café in Spanish Harlem. Meet me there in ten?"

"Yeah, sure!"

I give Piper the address and name of the place, throw on a black leather jacket, and head out.

—

I'm sitting by the café window when I see them across the street at a playground. A young woman with sunglasses covering up her face sitting on a park bench with an older, paunchier woman with dark curls of hair. I can see them talking, but they abruptly stop when they see a young man who is trying to talk to Sunglasses.

He says something and holds his arms half open, like he was expecting a hug or something as the breeze blows on his button up shirt, blatantly showing the black wife-beater tank underneath. She rises up from the bench, saying something back to the guy and rips off her sunglasses. Thats when I see the black eye and cut lip that adorn her face like an ugly piece of art. Shit.

I stop watching what should be on a spanish soap opera because of a certain blonde that catches my eye immediately as she walks into the café.

"Piper! I thought you wouldn't show up." I stand up from my table and envelope her in a hug. She hugs me back, smiling.

We order our coffees, black coffee for me, a cappuccino for Piper. We both receive them in mugs and go to over to the table near the window where I was waiting for her. I glance over at the park, and see the couple hugging.

"Okay, Alex," Piper says, sitting down in a chair opposite me, "You _need_ to tell me what you do for a living."

"I… import things." I try to look inconspicuous and pour some cream into my coffee.

Piper, looking unsatisfied, continues with, "Like _what_ things?"

"Like, drug things. I already told you. I'm part of an international drug cartel."

She looks around, confused, then leans in.

"So you were telling the truth?"

I lean in and whisper, "When have I ever lied to you, darling?" I smile and take a sip of my coffee. Piper leans back in her chair, thunderstruck.

"So, like, what do you do? Do you deal it?"

I laugh and drink more coffee. Dealing is for amateurs.

"No, no. I just move shipments from place to place. Internationally."

She still looks deep in thought, and after a few seconds of silence, takes a long drink from her cappuccino. When she finally lowers the mug, theres a line of foam trailing along her upper lip, somehow making a foam mustache look sexy and ridiculous at the same time.

"You've got, uh, some foam on your lip." I say, reaching across the table and lightly brush across Piper's upper lip with a finger to wipe it off. In an attempt to steer the conversation to a lighter topic, I put the foam-covered finger in my mouth and suck on it as a joke. Piper watches me intently with those pale blue eyes, then cracks a half-smile. Leaning into my ear, she whispers, "Hey, lets get out of here."

"Like where?"

She leans in so close her dirty blonde hair tickles my neck, making me start to take shallower breathes.

"Your place?"

I smirk, regaining some of my confidence. "I thought you said this wasn't a date."

"Okay, okay, _fine. _This is a date. Can we go now?"

"Lets go."

Looping my arm through hers, I grab my purse and make sure my keys are in there. Bingo. As we head out the door and to my apartment, practically running through the streets of the Big Apple, a thought flits through my mind. Maybe, just maybe, Christina will owe me me some money.

—

Hey guys!

Thank you for your patience, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Did you find the easter egg in this chapter? And what will happen next with Piper and Alex? I'm trying to go in chronological order with information from the book as well as the show, so I think you guys can guess what's next :) Next chapter up soon!


	3. Chapter 3

**—**

**Alex**

"Ohhh. OHHHHH. _OHHHHH._"

Piper continues to moan as I reach up from underneath the sheets and grab a boob. How did we get here within three minutes of arriving at my apartment? I just remember pushing her up against the bookshelf and ripping off her clothes, her grabbing my glasses and putting them somewhere near the bed, taking off her super cute tan heels (I'm a girl, I notice that stuff), then falling onto the bed with my fists full of her golden locks.

Her back arches up as I'm just finishing. I hear her moan again. Two, three, four, five more times, each coming quicker and louder than the last. Damn. Cupping her 34B in one hand, I pull my head out from underneath the sheets and lean down to kiss her stomach. I'm wiping my mouth on my arm when I hear her whisper, "Oh my God."

I push a black tangle of hair out of my face, smirk, and say, "Horrible, wasn't it?"

Still breathing heavily, she smiles, "The worst."

I lean in and our lips meet. In my mind, fireworks begin every moment her soft lips come in contact with any part of me, so long as I'm the sole receiver of them.

We break apart for a second and she murmurs, "You're bad at that." Then leans up to kiss again. The fireworks die out a second time when she gazes at me and asks, "Can I do you?"

Grinning, I say, "You don't have to ask."

Fireworks once more.

"I've never…really…"

"Gone down on a woman before?" I ask, skeptical. She _seemed_ pretty experienced to me when we met, but hey, theres a first time for everything.

Still watching me, she admits, "I mean…no."

I chuckle.

"What kind of a lesbian are you?"

"The boob-touching kind." She says, and smiles while I laugh.

Pushing a lock of hair out of my face, I say, "Alright, well…are you ready to take the plunge, so to speak?"

She runs a hand through my hair and asks, "Are you gonna coach me through it?

Still grinning, I say, "Yeah."

We both smile and lean in, lips meeting again and again until my phone starts beeping, indicating a call. Shit, should've muted it. First time I've been cockblocked by my own phone. "Shit." I mutter into Piper's mouth. Silently cursing my phone in my head, I pull away and check the caller ID. Levi. Fuck.

Out loud, I let out an almost-panicky, "Shit" and pull on my glasses. Glancing over at Piper, I ask, "What time is it in Amsterdam?"

"I have no idea." She says, with a manicured hand reaching up and stroking my hair.

As much as I didn't want to say out loud what I had to do, I did it anyways.

"Okay, um, gimme a second-"

Piper reaches up and pulls me into a swarm of kisses

Pulling away, I apologize, saying, "I'm sorry. It's business."

She lets out a disappointed groan.

"I'll be right back." I promise, pulling on a thin robe and walking out towards the hallway.

"Do you want a glass of water?" I ask. I'm already on my way to the kitchen, might as well offer.

I hear Pipers voice carry out through the apartment.

"Is that a part of it? Hydration?"

By that point, I've already answered Levi's call.

"Levi, what is it? Did you get the order in?"

A heavy Dutch accent belonging to Levi responds to my question. "Yes, but-"

"But what?"

"Nevermind, Vause. I've got it in, Kubra's happy. No worries."

I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Bless you Levi, truly I-"

Somewhere from the bedroom, I hear a voice scream, "ALEX!"

Piper. I snap my phone shut, and sprint through the hallway, coming to a stop when I see Silvia on top of a sheet-covered Piper.

**—**

**Silvia**

I got off of work early today. I told my manager that I was feeling sick, and proceeded to make my way to Alex and I's modest apartment. Our relationship has seemed _strained_ lately, Alex has been dealing with an asshole in Amsterdam for the past few weeks, but it seems like theres something else. I found out it was _someone_ else when I came in to surprise Alex and found a naked blonde slut in my bed. There are clothes, _Alex's_ clothes, strewn on the floor.

The slut sees me, and says, "What the-?"

Then, "ALEX!"

And then, I punch her.

We roll off onto the ground, where I pin her there, trying to get another punch in. Alex runs into the room, flicking on the light, yelling, "Jesus! What the fuck? Stop, Silvy!"

Like _I'm_ the bad guy. Cheating fucker. Alex pulls me off the whore, and I stumble back, looking into the blonde girls panicked face.

Alex yells, "Stop it, _Silvy!_" as I continue to scream obscenities into her face.

She then mutters a softer, "Shit." and helps the whore up. She manages to hyperventilate, whimper, and gingerly touch her cheek all at the same time.

Breathing heavily, while gripping the sheets to _my _bed and backing away, Whore says, "She, she attacked me!"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I pull off my hood and start to go after her again, but Alex holds out a hand, and commands, "Stop."

In a softer tone, addressing Whore, Alex asks, "Piper?"

Ah, so a whore name for a whore girl. If the shoe fits.

Whore, I mean, _Piper, _gasps between shallow breaths, "She just…_broke_ in here!"

This is too much. I decide to enlighten _Piper._

"**I ****_LIVE_**** HERE!**" I roar, while Alex attempts to wipe her face of emotion.

Alex breaks character, and says to _Piper,_ "She does."

"She's my _girlfriend_, you whore." I add.

Whore's face becomes clouded with confusion.

"No." she says. I ignore her, while Alex turns to face me.

"Get her the _fuck_ out of here." I hiss in her face

"Okay, I will. I'm gonna get her out of here, and then we're gonna talk."

"I said get her out. _Now!"_

I hear a faint "Silvy. Come on, Silvy." as I leave.

I storm out of the bedroom, out of the apartment, out of the neighborhood, then catch a train out of the Bronx. Hopefully, I've also just stormed out of Alex's life.

**—**

**Piper**

I can't _believe_ Alex has a girlfriend. _She_ pursued me. Fuck her. Technically, I was less than ten minutes ago, but still.

After Alex's girlfriend leaves, I turn to Alex.

"You're _girlfriend_?" I ask, almost too stunned to speak.

"It's complicated." Alex stammers.

"Oh my…this is so_ fucked up_." Whoops. I guess I meant to say that inside my head. Sometimes that happens, where I accidentally say my thoughts out loud.

"I'm sorry, I should have said something." Alex apologizes.

"You _think?_"

Alex rushes over. "Are you hurt? Did she hurt you?" She questions.

I push her away and begin picking up articles of clothing scattered around the floor. Shoe, check. Pants, check.

"She punched me in the face! _Yes_, it hurts! Fuck! Where's my other shoe?" I continue looking, grab my blouse, and tighten my hold around the sheets.

"I just, I kept seeing you around, and, you know, I _liked_ you. And then when you called-"

"Okay, stop it," I say, interrupting Alex. "Please don't. You're making it worse."

Looking down at the pile in my hands, I'm still missing my bra and my shoe.

"Here." says Alex, holding up the hot pink number I wore today to our coffee date. "Did you find your other shoe?"

"Forget it." I say, and begin to walk out the bedroom door.

"What! You can't walk home without your shoes."

I stop, and glare at Alex incredulously. Her face freezes up and she stammers out, "Th-They're nice shoes."

I throw the single heel on the floor. "They're from Marshall's," I spit, then grab a hold of the doorknob. "And fuck you." The door slams shut.

I shove my way, shoeless, out the front of Alex- I mean, _Silvy_'s building and begin stalking my way through the sidewalk. Glancing down at my phone, it reads out; _2 new messages_. They're both from Polly, my best friend, the only person who knows about Alex. Opening up my phone, I stop next to a trash can to read the texts.

The first one says, _Hey P. Hows the hot date? _

The second, _You've officially been gone for more than half an hour, and you haven't responded yet. Either someone stole your phone, or you've just signed up for the softball league._

I smile. Only Polly could ever cheer me up while I fume by myself on the sidewalks of the Bronx on a Tuesday half dressed and barefoot.

I start to type out, _Played some softball, turns out I'm not the only catcher Alex pitches t-_ When some kid runs into me. My phone clatters out of my hand and into the trash can. Great. A second later, a half-eaten hamburger is thrown in there as well. I look back and see a small blur sprinting away down the sidewalk, as a woman's voice from inside a nearby store shouts out, "Michael!"

As if my day wasn't bad enough. Now I've lost a girl, my shoes, and now, my phone. Massaging my cheekbone, I add _being punched by the girl's girlfriend_ to the list. Glancing over to the store, I realize it's a Footlocker. Might as well.

I check for my purse, note that at least I didn't lose it yet, and brush past a tall black woman rushing out the door, who I assume is Michael's mom due to the fact she keeps calling out his name nearly every second. I pick out a pair of plain white Keds, and make my way down to the subway station.

It's not until I arrive at Polly and I's modest townhouse in NYC that I realize one of the burdens that comes with getting a new phone includes having to recollect all my contact numbers. That information, along with the fact that the only copy of Alex's number that I have is in my phone, officially makes it the worst ending to one of the best days of my life.

**—**

**Hey everybody!**

**I'm so sorry I didn't come out with this sooner, I've been super busy lately! I plan on making an outline sometime this weekend, but I'm not sure when Chapter Four will come out, so I thank you in advance for your patience :) Please leave a review on your thoughts about the story so far, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it!**


	4. Chapter 4

Polly settles herself down on our cappuccino-colored couch, mug of hot cocoa in hand.

"Okay, you have to tell me _everything._ Not the reason why you're shoes are missing. Or how you mysteriously lost your phone. _Everything._"

Sighing, I launch into a full-detail explanation of the past few hours. With each detail added Polly's eyes slowly widen to the point where she resembles the Disney princess Rapunzel, just without the 20 feet of hair and substituting green eyes for hazel.

"So she has a _girlfriend?_"

Nodding my head, I confirm, "They call her 'Silvy' -"

Polly interrupts with a disgusted sound and I hear her mutter, "Silvy, ugh," as I continue on with my sentence. "- and the worst part is, I don't have a way to contact Alex again."

"You can't contact her? Good."

"Yes, remember the whole a-kid-ran-into-me-and-my-phone-fell-into-a-trash-can ordeal? Unfortunately for me, science hasn't invented telepathic communication yet, so my only chance would be to wait outside her apartment building, but then I'd be risking seeing her girlfriend too."

"What, you mean you'd want to see that cheating whore again? After you were her _mistress,_ then got attacked by her psycho girlfriend with a stupid nickname?"

I think about it, and finally come to a conclusion after a minute of my inner thoughts battling one another as Polly sips from her mug with an expectant look on her face.

"Pol, I think she really _does_ care for me. I mean, she went up to _me_ at the bar. _She _pursued _me._ I didn't even know she had a girlfriend until I was punched in the face. Alex _wanted_ to sleep with me. I'm not trying to say adultery is necessarily a good thing, but just for those moments that we spent together, she stopped thinking of her girlfriend. Alex was only thinking of me. And it felt good."

Polly stares at me, stunned. She finally manages to say, "I never thought you'd _actually _be a mistress. After all, your dad cheated on your mom, I just thought you'd, you know, be more sensitive to stuff like this."

"Well unlike my mother, I don't ignore my problems. Most of the time." I sigh. "Alex…is different."

Polly drains the rest of her hot cocoa, and snorts out, "Why? Because she's a _she_? Hate to break it to you Pipes, but just because she has a v instead of a p down there doesn't make cheating okay."

Balling my fists and standing up, I retort with, "No. Because she's different."

Polly scratches her neck. "Okay, I believe you."

I collect Polly's still-warm mug and start making my way to the kitchen when Polly calls out, "Hey Pipes?"

"What?"

"So, are you now, like, my gay best friend?"

"_What?_"

I can hear faint laughter that sounds suspiciously like Polly's.

"Well, you're my best friend. And you're gay. So now you can be my best friend _and_ my gay best friend!"

Blushing to the point where I can literally feel the tomato red on my face, I call out, "Still not gay, like I said before, I'm just trying something new."

"Whatever you say." Another tinkling of laughter sneaks its way into my ears and I smile.

I begin strolling back to the living room when I hear faint, yet familiar snores. Turning around the corner, my eyes confirm what my ears suspected. Polly passed out on the couch, sleeping. I shake my head. Hot cocoa always makes her drowsy. Whirling around the corner, I check the time via microwave clock. 11:38.

Pulling on my jacket, I head out the door, unsure of where exactly I'm going. I'm only fully aware of where I am when I'm in the Bronx for the second time that day, making my way to Alex's building. Stopping in the middle of the deserted sidewalk, my brain and my heart commence an internal battle, with the victor deciding whether or not I walk into the building and see Alex. They both put up a fair fight, but after referencing the archives of my short term memory, I remember my talk with Polly. In that conversation I was vouching for my heart, while Polly was sort of acting as my brain.

In that conversation, the heart won. I walk into the little room where you have to be buzzed in. Alex _has_ to be home. I check the directory and find her name - _Vause, 221B_.

I stop myself before punching in the numbers. Will she answer? Might as well try. Two, another two, one, then B. I'm only waiting for a couple seconds when I hear a voice coming from the intercom in her room.

"Hello?" it's not the usual low rumble that belongs to Alex, but its definitely feminine . "Hello? Is anyone there?" she asks again. The voice asks three more times, then I hear a loud crackle, confirming she's hung up. I slump down on the floor, leaning my back against the concrete wall. Alex is home, with Silvia, most likely. I don't know why, I just hoped they'd have broken up, that Alex was waiting for me with open arms.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. I pick myself off the floor and make my way out into the darkened street, making sure to slam the door behind me.

**—**

**Hey there!**

**Thank you for waiting so long for this chapter to be released, I've been both busy and procrastinating for a month, but hopefully I'll be able to write more depending on my schedule. I have the next two chapters planned out, and hopefully I'll be able to write and publish them as soon as possible. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! **


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